Efforts
by To-AntigoneEvenstar
Summary: One sentence stories by the four people who live in the Fujiwara house. Attempts to keep with canon.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: These are not my characters.

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Anger:

Shigeru is not easily given to anger anymore, but in the face of these...actual pieces of excrement detailing how terrible of a child Takashi was, he finds himself fighting to keep his hand from curling into a fist.

It took a while, but word finally got around Yatsuhara forest: Natsume Takashi was an incredibly kind person up until you threatened the Fujiwaras, then you met his desperate rage.

Madara found himself gravely disconcerted that such a slim bean sprout could induce protective feelings on his behalf; but standing over Natsume's wounded form, he felt it churning through his gut.

Anger was not something Touko had been well acquainted with until her Takashi-Kun came to live with them, at which point she became an expert at hiding the flashes that came up whenever her boy acted surprised that she was kind.

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~*~*~  
Happiness:

He had never expected it, but there was a strange gladness at the moment he saw one of his old sweaters half-drowning Takashi-kun.

It annoyed poor Nyanko-sensei, but Takashi felt almost giddy at the prospect of finishing a school year with the same class he started with.

He knew it was fleeting, but sitting on a warm lap on a cool night, ears being scratched in just the right spot- well.

"Oh!" Shigeru looked up at Touko's exclamation to see her smiling face, "Takashi-kun forgot to thank me for making lunch!"

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~*~*~  
Sorrow:

Shigeru had few regrets in his life, primarily his wife's face when she saw families with children.

Natsume knew he couldn't help everyone, or solve everything, but that didn't keep him from trying- or hurting when he failed.

It ran across the floor, and Madara let out a despairing yowl while Natsume scrambled to sop up the spilled sake.

For some it may have been a small incident, but when the small ceramic trinket (from her mother) broke, Touko's tears managed to terrify Takashi-kun into awkwardly patting her shoulder, finally breaking a long-standing barrier.

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~*~*~  
Illness:

Shigeru counted himself fortunate that illness struck rarely, but doing so sent his love into a tizzy of mother-henning- at least this time he had Takashi-kun as fellow prisoner.

In his experience, being sick was something to endure in solitude, so sharing his convalescence with Shigeru-san was a learning experience as Touko-san's fussing managed to multiply itself exponentially.

He slept through most of it, but Madara knew well enough that the brief instances of gentle care he did recall were outpourings of Natsume's guilt and worry, the idiot bean sprout.

It wasn't that Touko was ever glad that Takashi-kun managed to fall ill regularly, it was just that when he did, she was able to show him ever so slightly more affection while his barriers were lowered.

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~*~*~  
Greed:

Perhaps it was petty, and it was certainly selfish, but Shigeru was relieved when Takashi (finally) plainly showed a preference for peaches, leaving most of the plums for himself.

It took a long time, but Takashi eventually managed to figure out that Shigure-San liked plums, which meant Takashi could eat his peaches without guilt.

Madara spent the better part of a year rolling his eyes as the two males danced around about fruit- but at least he didn't have to share any of his sake.

Keeping her boys in peaches and plums was definitely self-serving as she gathered and counted smiles of gratitude from both.

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~*~*~  
Tranquility:

Despite the uproar that Reiko had caused, Shigeru realized that the tension building up in the house had gone along with her.

Before, the only peace Takashi managed was in solitude so it amazed him to look around, see his friends and family, and still be at peace.

Sometimes Madara liked to walk around the house on the nights Takashi was without nightmares and soak up the atmosphere.

Even an unassuming boy like Takashi-kun made noise, but it was no surprise to Touko to notice that even so, the house felt more at peace with itself.

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~*~*~  
Pride:

Compared to when he first came to live with them, watching Takashi-kun successfully and willingly interact with people now sent a burst of paternal pride spiraling through his chest.

It was a small thing, but seeing Touko-San exult over his latest test results was amazing.

The brat was far from grown, but sometimes Madara admitted to himself that Natsume would greatly outpace Reiko- with his help, obviously.

It had taken a lot of work, but eavesdropping on her boys, she was glad to find that they had managed to connect enough to hold a conversation without her presence.

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~*~*~  
Care:

It was difficult with someone as distrusting as Takashi-kun, but Shigeru kept the image of a frightened animal in mind as he helped the young man move about with healing injuries.

At first the revelation terrified Takashi: this feeling was not the same general concern he felt for everyone, but genuine attachment to two people who could reject him.

Madara swore the child slept better after a nightmare if he transformed into his true shape.

Touko was always worried that saying the words outright would send Takashi-kun fleeing for the hills, so she hoped that instead her actions would say it plainly enough for her.

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My first contribution to this fandom, hopefully not the last. I feel like I'm cheating on my wip, oops. Any questions feel free to ask, thanks for reading!


	2. Growth

Disclaimer: Not mine, just a few stories.

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Nyanko-sensei:

Touko was neither jealous nor competitive by nature, but hearing Takashi-kun talk so easily to his (ugly) _cat_ set off a _very_ determined feeling within herself not to lose to the pet.

It was strange how easily The Cat settled into their house with them, but Shigeru had always wanted a pet- now the real problem was keeping Touko from worrying Takashi with her little competition.

Perhaps he was reading too much into it, but Takashi swore there was some extra...tension between Nyanko-sensei and Touko-san, although neither outwardly acknowledged it.

Madara was not weak enough to get truly attached to a mere slip of a human- but he wasn't about to lose to one either, significant though her fighting will was.

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Touko:

Even at a young age, Touko had always been one to care for others- Takashi-kun, though, was proving quite the challenge to care for properly, but just give her time.

Watching his wife, Shigeru felt as though Takashi-kun had shaken a full decade of aging from her.

Takashi was caught between embarrassment and awe when Touko-san full-out _lectured_ the Principal for blaming a series of recent thefts on his newest (strangest) student without evidence, leading to an apology on the Principals part both before _and_ after Takashi's eventual vindication.

Madara decided that despite the distance of relation between the two, both Natsume and Touko-san were rather frightening in their determination to protect.

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Shigeru:

When she first met Shigeru, something fell into place and Touko knew he was hers for the keeping.

Marrying Touko had been the most satisfying decision in his life, and Shigeru thought quite happily that this was as good as it got- and then came Takashi.

Takashi admired Shigeru-san greatly for what he did (and didn't do) every day; the realization that no matter how tired, Shigeru-san always took at least a few moments for him, _Takashi_ , made him the kind of giddy/weepy that forced Nyanko-sensei to drink.

Humans were emotional in ways that ayakashi found perplexing- but Madara could admit there was something very _filling_ about the emotions here, in this house.

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Natsume:

Touko had never been one to play invalid, but if it eased Takashi-kun's mind even the slightest to help care for her, she would tolerate being a bit coddled over a mere sniffle.

Watching Takashi-kun care for Touko was enlightening: on one hand experienced, on the other dreadfully uncertain and overly cautious, so it was likely a good thing that his Touko didn't need quite the level of care Takashi-kun was attempting to exert.

He knew the Fujiwaras were mostly humoring him, but fuzzy memories of an illness that simply _took_ made him anxious- so mere common cold or no, Takashi stayed often with Touko-san until she fully recovered.

Madara knew more of the bean-sprout's fears than he cared to admit, and therefore didn't fuss (much) when Natsume mostly ignored him until Touko recovered.

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Recovery:

Victory was sweet, and Touko had certainly won this round over the Ugly Cat Dumpling.

Shigeru knew his Touko was returned to health when he caught her lording her victory over the cat- even as she fed it snacks.

Despite how troublesome his life had become, Takashi felt how much easier it was, living with people who cared for him.

Reluctantly, Madara knew he'd been beaten this time, but it wasn't over yet!

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Caution:

Her young man had such strong barriers to protect himself, and yet- oh, look at all his friendships.

Shigeru had never considered himself very paranoid, but with the amount the Cat ate, he had learned to guard his food well.

As seasons turned, Touko-san would always stuff gloves in his coat pockets then tuck his scarf in, and Shigeru-san would gently remind him of the impending poor weather.

Natsume, Madara knew, had everyone fooled with his little sweet, nice guy act- nice guys don't threaten to pour your sake down the drain just for enjoying yourself a little too loudly.

* * *

Belonging:

Hearing Takashi-kun speak of 'home' so casually-

Small, strong, his, even the really Fat Cat.

Takashi stayed long enough to find the best shortcuts, and not just the best hiding spots.

"Stop giving away names, that's mine you-" honestly, how many times did he have to yowl?

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Watching:

It was such a silly thing, but Touko liked to watch clothes fly in the wind, as though something was playing to make shapes from them.

Takashi-kun still kept an eye on them, but it seemed different from the distrust and desperation it had been at first, and so Shigeru made a point to always speak care and affection with his actions.

Quite honestly, the latest television and pop idols were really, really low on Takashi's priority list, but this series seemed really important to Nishimura, so watch it he would.

All the extra eyes watching Natsume made Madara nervous- the brat really needed to be more careful around ayakashi and exorcists, alike.

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Determination:

From the moment she found him under a street light, she knew this boy was hers to protect, even if it took a while to teach this to Takashi-kun.

Unfortunately, no one in the house was well-verse in technology, so getting Takashi-kun's phone to work properly was something of an adventure.

Shigeru-san had helped him study for his test, there was no way he was going to miss it just because some idiot ayakashi liked eating his pencils.

Natsume Takashi decided he had no self-preservation at the most inconvenient times, but at least it wasn't boring, so _of course_ Madara would stay, the brat still had the Book.

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So I was struck by motivation(!) and decided to finish the addition I'd started like, a year ago. Enjoy!


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